From Ghibli to Barbie, AI-generated art goes viral. But at what cost to artists?
Posted May 6, 2025 02:04:43 PM.
First there was an influx of artificial intelligence-generated portraits mimicking Japanese Studio Ghibli’s signature style. Then came Barbie Doll starter packs flooding social media.
But what can be seen as harmless trends is raising concerns about authorship, labour, and the erasure of artistic intent.
“It’s not something that can be duplicated on its own,” said artist Isabel Yong. “AI can’t make art that we enjoy without human engagement.”
For Yong, an art major at Montreal’s Concordia University, the value of art lies in the accumulation of choices an artist makes over time — a process that reflects personal experience, emotional investment, and intentional labour.
“I see my mark as quantified through decisions,” explained Yong, who has held multiple exhibitions at Concordia’s student galleries, where she explores themes of memory and identity through oil paintings.
Earlier this year, a Ghibli-style AI portrait trend surged on Instagram, with users posting AI-generated images of themselves reimagined in the visual style of Studio Ghibli films like “Spirited Away” and “Howl’s Moving Castle.” The trend was powered by platforms such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, offering users the ability to upload selfies and receive stylized portraits within seconds.
Last month, a new AI generated trend emerged called “Starter Pack” or “Barbie Box,” where users are reimagining themselves as dolls alongside accessories — all created by AI models. The hashtag #starterpack shot in popularity as a result.
Such trends also highlight ethical concerns with copyrighted creative work, especially with the replication of the distinct Ghibli-style animation created by Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki.
OpenAI’s chief executive Sam Altman has acknowledged the copyright issues surrounding ChatGPT art, but ultimately called it a “net win for society.” Addressing the power of technology, Altman says AI provides access to everyone and significantly increases the number of people contributing to society.
Overlooking artistic labour
Some artists, however, are breaking the generative AI cycle and drawing their own versions.
Montreal-based artist Jamie Paige went the traditional route by hand drawing her “doll” using an art software.
“It could have taken seven seconds with AI, but all the charm, character, and personality would have been missing,” said Paige, who goes by the handle @jamiepaigedoodles on Instagram.
Paige advocates for the process and intention behind creative work.
“I know a lot of artists are feeling frustrated and even a bit scared about where things are heading with AI,” she said. “I think that’s exactly why it’s so important to keep showing up with our art.”
While Yong acknowledges that AI can serve as a useful tool, especially when used with purpose and constraint, she draws a clear line between using technology to enhance a vision and outsourcing the vision itself.
“If you’re just putting in one prompt and letting the AI take over, there’s very little of you in it,” she said.
Painter Holly King, however, sees the trend as part of a broader misunderstanding of what creativity involves.
“I think this is an awful way to work and that they should rely on their own mind to continue creating,” said King, who teaches in Concordia’s Department of Studio Arts.
“The general public doesn’t have much of an idea about an artist’s labours. Most people think that it is a quick fix, whereas the reality is that it can be a slow and frustrating experience to use AI in a satisfactory way.”
Energy and privacy concerns
There are also environmental concerns with AI, particularly around the energy required to generate high-quality images.
“I knew AI used a lot of resources, but seeing how (quickly) it took to generate a single image made it clear just how energy-intensive it is,” said Astrid Rousselin, a part-time artist and marketing professional.
While Rousselin was struck by the realism of the output, she described the rapid advancement of the technology as “very impressive and also very worrying”.
Currently, one AI datacentre consumes as much electricity as 100,000 households, and every ChatGPT query that is submitted uses 10 times the amount of electricity as a Google search: 2.9 watt-hours (Wh) compared to 0.3 Wh.
With the growing usage of AI tools, there is an emergence of privacy and data usage concerns that users often overlook. Since human interaction with AI is one-on-one, it creates the impression that the tool is secure, says Toronto Metropolitan University professor Geoffery Lachapelle, who specializes in e-sports and AI.
“Users should be extremely careful what data they are uploading to these platforms. Elements of any information could inform future answers provided by the AI,” Lachapelle warned.
“Particularly for platforms that are not clear about how the information is used, users should operate under the assumption that data being uploaded is being held long term, even if only for training purposes, and should act with care appropriately.”
–Isha Sahai Bhatnagar is a student at Concordia University in Montreal and a contributor to CityNews Montreal
